WARNING: Graphic Images

by Pat Tierney

Recently the terrorist attacks in India have been dominating the headlines of newspapers and web pages across the country and the world.

The homepage of Fox News is no different.

On the front of their page are links to related stories about the terrorist attacks. One of the most striking was a photo essay about the attacks that specifically said, WARNING: Graphic Images.

In our class we have talked a lot about censorship and whether it is a good or bad thing.

Yes, these images are graphic, but the event itself wasn't exactly a pretty sight.

Is it responsible for the media to show photos that may be graphic in nature, to the world.

Personally and professionally I believe yes.

The world can be a harsh place, and often times people don't always see the reality of everyday life around the world. Living in the mid-west it is so easy to be sheltered from the harsh realities that are sometimes taking place around the world, but I think journalists can do a good job of sharing these experiences with the world.

Fox News is just one example of a news organization that is doing this, taking a story (no matter how hard to handle) and share it with the world.

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Twitter saves the day...maybe

By: Katie Anthony

While many would argue that the journalists strive to show, rather than tell, I believe there to be a fine line between showing what's necessary and showing it all.

By now, everyone knows that I'm not a huge fan of negative news-though I've become used to it because that type of news is the majority of the news.

Yet, when I was looking for a blog topic this week, I stumbled across "Citizen Journalists Provide Glimpes Into Attacks."

This article falls back on the information that was put on Twitter the day that the Taj Mahal Palace and Taj Hotel were attacked.

Many reporters tapes, cell phones, and any other means of information were confiscated after the attacks for evidence, yet some citizens-now seen as "citizen journalists"-were able to keep their cell phones that held short recordings of the burning of these buildings.

In situations like these, the line is truly fine, and I think the line was crossed in this case. While the public had a desire to be informed, I don't think that a minute-by-minute picture of burning buildings is the most effective way to get their message and information across.

In fact, I'd argue that just replaying the pictures/video the news have, would be more than sufficient as long as they're relaying new information as its given to them. That's how they informed the public about the 9/11 attacks, so I think that in the case of the Mumbai attacks, the same rules need to be applied.

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Obama merchandise hawked by papers

By: Erin Floro

 

After the recent election of Barack Obama newspapers are trying to make money off this historic event.  Since revenues are down at most newspapers, it sounds like a good idea to me.

 

The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times are selling memorabilia such as t-shirts, coffee mugs, and key chains with Obama’s image.  Big items now are reproductions of the Nov. 5 front page headlining Obama’s victory.  A framed edition front page with brass plating can be yours for only $299 plus shipping and handling from the NY Times.

 

After searching the LA Times Web site, I came across other items available for purchase such as buttons, dolls, clocks, and even bobble heads.  This paper reports $686,000 in sales of Obama merchandise.

 

I think this is smart of the newspapers to make additional revenue.  As a consumer I would personally buy an item from a newspaper before I would a t-shirt or souvenir shop.  These items would be of quality material and appropriate.

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College newspapers suffer from poor economy

By: Erin Floro

 

The increasing decline of print advertising revenue has hit newspapers hard all over the United States.  College newspapers are no exception.

 

The economy has nosedived so badly that papers have had to make cutbacks in such areas as frequency of issues, size of paper, and number of pages.  Other papers have had to reevaluate their budget by trimming expenses such as travel and dining. 

 

Many financial and consulting firms that normally recruit through advertising have cut back or stop doing so altogether. 

 

National companies that target college students as consumers are cutting their own costs by reducing advertising.  They probably figure a college student doesn’t have much extra money to spend on their product.  So why advertise in a college newspaper?

 

I’m sure our very own paper, The Simpsonian, has also felt the crunch.  Lets hope that it can continue to be the nations longest running college newspaper.  

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NPR's vlog

By: Callie McBroom

NPR announced the launch of a new type of blog today. It is called a Vlog, which is a video blog. Wikipedia says that vlogging consists of regular entries embedded with video or video links that also employ text and still images. Vlogs can also be distributed by RSS feeds, allowing "automatic aggregation and playback on mobile devices and personal computers."

NPR's vlog named "Open Mike" is set up on a YouTube channel called Weekend Edition.

Scott Simon, the host for Weekend Edition Saturday held his first interview with NPR News Analyst Juan Williams. Liane Hansen will soon be holding her first interview on the vlog as the host for Weekend Edition Sunday.

NPR is also asking its readers for suggestions about future guests for the vlog.

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Abusive blogs

By: Callie McBroom

Blogs have become very popular with many different people who use them for very different reasons. But now, this popularity and the tendency for blogs to be posted anonymously is causing problems.

Both John McIntire and Words at Work have recently been discussing the need to have some sort of control over what is said in blogs. This issue has surfaced because some bloggers are abusing others over the internet.

This is not only a problem for the abused bloggers, however. Annoying and abusive posts can also deter other people from posting a comment, for fear that they will receive the same treatment. This defeats the purpose of blogging.

Now the question remains, who will decide what should and shouldn't be said? And, who will make sure that First Amendment rights are upheld while protecting bloggers from unnecessary attacks?

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